Dr Joanna Garstang MBChB, MRCPCH, PhD

• Elected as Fellow of Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (FRCPCH) 2025
• Certificate of Completion of Training in Community Paediatrics (CCT) 2016
• PhD Health Sciences University of Warwick, 2015
• MSc Child Health, University of Warwick, 2010
• Membership of Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (MRCPCH) 2000
• MBChB, University of Bristol 1995

Dr Garstang’s research career started towards the end of her specialist training in community paediatrics, being awarded an NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship in 2010 based at the University of Warwick, to evaluate the multi-agency investigation of sudden infant deaths. Her findings have been used to inform investigative practices and care for families globally, and were adopted as part of the 2016 Multi agency guidelines for the investigation of Sudden Unexpected Death in infancy and Childhood

Since her PhD, Dr Garstang has combined her research expertise in SUDIC with leading an exemplar clinical service. She was appointed as a consultant community paediatrician at Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in 2017, becoming the Designated Doctor for Child Deaths for Birmingham and Solihull. Dr Garstang is the clinical lead for the Birmingham sudden unexpected death in infancy or childhood (SUDIC) service, which is one of the few specialist paediatrician-led services providing 24/7 investigation and support for families. Dr Garstang oversees the review of all child deaths in Birmingham and Solihull, which has the largest Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) nationally.

Dr Garstang’s research has continued to focus on improving multi-agency working in safeguarding, analysing child safeguarding practice reviews relating to sudden infant deaths, intra-familial child sexual abuse, and deaths from medical causes. During COVID, her research identified the high risks to children from school closures, as teachers were no longer referring children for child protection medical assessments. Since then, Dr Garstang has led research on the safeguarding risks for children after adoption or special guardianship order. Dr Garstang led a co-design project with bereaved parents, to enable them to participate in child death reviews; co-creating the Child Death Review Toolkit  Dr Garstang continues to research in sudden infant and child deaths, with projects currently focusing on the risks of vaping, and on sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC). She is a medical advisor to the English National Child Mortality Database. 

Dr Garstang is involved in a wide range of community child health research, supporting projects on child development, autism, behaviour that challenges and screening for type 1 diabetes. Dr Garstang currently chairs the British Association for Community Child Health (BACCH) research committee, which aims to help address the decline in community child health research. Dr Garstang has supported several projects led by paediatric trainees, to enable them to gain research experience.

As an expert in child death investigation, Dr Garstang gave evidence concerning issues relating to Child Death Review in the Countess of Chester hospital as part of the Thirlwall Public Enquiry. She also provided written evidence for the 2022 Folbigg Inquiry into the convictions of Kathleen Folbigg, playing a small part in the subsequent exoneration of Kathleen and her release from prison. Dr Garstang has also provided evidence for several high-profile criminal cases relating to child deaths.

Dr Garstang is Chair of ISPID, the International Society for the Study and Prevention of Infant and Perinatal Death; leading the conference planning for the 2027 conference to be held at the University of Birmingham.

Dr Garstang supervises MNurs student dissertations and supports elective placements for medical and nursing students.

Dr Garstang co-leads the RCPCH course on ‘How to manage: when a child dies’

Dr Garstang is happy to supervise doctoral research on:

• Child protection as a public health issue
• Child maltreatment
• Child abuse and neglect
• Child Death Review – process, outcomes and families experiences
• Joint Agency Response to unexpected child deaths 
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) – investigation and support for families

Current projects:

• Vaping and Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy; an efficiently designed case-control study. Funded by The Lullaby Trust and Teddy’s Wish, 2 years from January 2025 
• PIONEER: a population-based investigation to reduce unexpected childhood deaths. Funded by SUDC-UK, 2 years from July 2025 
• QUINTET: IneQUIty in end of life care for children: Investigating experiences and families' Needs after sudden and unexpecTEd deaTh in children and young people. Funded By NIHR HSDR, 3 years from December 2024 
• Supporting traumatised infants: A mapping and case study review. Funded by NIHR RPSC, 18 months from October 2026. 

Previous projects: 

• Involving parents and staff in learning from child deaths.  Funded by NIHR RfPB, 19 months from 01 August 2022
• Improving safeguarding outcomes following adoption or special guardianship. Funded by Nuffield Foundation, 18 months from 01 September 2023

Dr Garstang is Chair of the Association of Child Death Review Professionals, medical advisor to Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood UK (SUDC-UK) and on the scientific committee of the Lullaby Trust.

Dr Garstang is Chair of the Child Death Review working group of the International Society for the prevention and study of infant and perinatal death (ISPID)

Dr Garstang works as an expert witness for courts in cases relating to Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy or Childhood